I have to start this piece by giving some credit to my colleague Adam Newson.
Speaking on The Byline Podcast last week, Adam referenced the concern over Chelsea target Jules Kounde picking up an injury preventing the long-rumoured transfer from Sevilla from being completed. Alas, the worst did come to pass following France's final UEFA Nations League game against Croatia on Monday night.
Didier Deschamps confirmed after that the defender would undergo surgery on Tuesday to resolve a long-standing issue. This sparked panic amongst supporters. Is the deal doomed? Does this mean the club should move on to other targets?
READ MORE: Sevilla confirm Jules Kounde surgery as planned return date is set for Chelsea summer target
On Tuesday morning, Sevilla confirmed in a statement on their website that the 23-year-old is having surgery in Bordeaux for a minor pelvis injury he has had for most of the past season. The statement concluded by stating that "In principle if everything goes as expected, the French international will be available for the start of the 2022/23 season."
football.london understands Chelsea were confident a deal for Kounde would be agreed this summer, with the centre-back still intent on a move to Stamford Bridge.
It is a bit of a red flag to see a target suffer any injury setbacks before potentially dropping upwards of £50m for his services in a key position. The fears of a disrupted pre-season, a slow start or the beginning of a trend that keeps him on the sidelines.
We cannot predict the future, but it has already been made clear that Chelsea knew about this situation and the deal is not in immediate danger of collapsing because of this surgery. Nor should it seal the fate of a bad deal either. There are a few recent examples of Chelsea signing players with previous injury concerns that turned out pretty well.
Diego Costa arrived at Stamford Bridge after a persistent hamstring issue that forced him to leave the Champions League final with Atletico Madrid early, sadly damning the infamous Horse placenta treatment as ineffective. After a disappointing World Cup Spain and reports of his injury woes, the Spaniard famously turned out to be one of the club's most impactful additions.
Six years later, Ben Chilwell was signed from Leicester City for £50m, with the left-back still recovering from a heel injury picked up at the back end of the previous season. Eventually, Chilwell returned and impressed in Frank Lampard's defence, ending the season as a star in a superb Champions League final performance for Thomas Tuchel.
You could point to Chilwell's 2021 ACL injury, but that is known to be an unfortunate impact injury rather than a recurring one in a certain area.
A deal over 12 months in the making still looks on course to be completed. Hopefully, the surgery goes well. Kounde can secure his dream move and begin an important pre-season under Tuchel next month in the USA.
